We took 8 days to cover the whole of Iceland. Looking back, 9 to 10 days would be a better duration to cover the corners and engage in activities at a more leisurely pace. Details of the trip is split into 4 parts so that information would not overwhelm you.
Part 3 – Northern Coast
Part 4 – Western Fjord
Arriving in Iceland
We were stuck at Amsterdam Airport for at least 4 hours because of a flight delay. Our arrival time to Iceland was pushed back and we arrived in Keflavik International Airport at 2 a.m.
Once we exited customs and entered the arrival hall, we went to purchase our SIM-Cards. Having informed Blue Car Rental that we would be arriving in the wee hours of the morning, the plan was to collect the car and then proceed to our first accommodation.
Accomodation: Bed and Breakfast Keflavík Airport. Since this place was just a stopover for us to recharge and take a short sleep for 6 hours, we were not expecting much. So we didn’t mind that the room looked old. This place provides complimentary breakfast for its guests and we happily loaded our stomachs with cereal, rye bread and muesli.
Keflavík → Vik
The first leg of our trip! Yay!
The most important thing before starting on the Ring Road is to head to Bonus (cheapest supermarket in Iceland. Just like our Giant Hypermart) and get your essentials. There may not be any convenience shops along the way so it is best to stock up on water, food and tidbits.
We decided to skip Blue Lagoon. It’s too crowded and touristy. Besides, there is a long waiting time to get into the pool.
Lunch: Tryggvaskáli. A quiet and quaint restaurant tucked away in a corner of town. This place serves up one of the best lobster soup and steak.
Seljalandsfoss: One of the prettiest waterfalls in Iceland. There are 2 waterfalls in this place. Follow the crowd and take a short walk to the back of the waterfall and be amazed at nature’s wonders. To get to the smaller waterfall, walk down the dirt road and bypass the bigger waterfall.
Skógafoss: Take a short hike up the waterfall and take in the sights of vast open fields.
Dyrhólaey Arch: We drove up to this place and captured the midnight sun. You might recognise this place if you are a Justin Bieber fan. A part of his music video was shot at this place. Beware of strong winds that can cause your car door to fly. Just remember when getting out of the car, hold on to your car door.
Reynisdrangar: The famous Vik Black Beach.
Accomodation: Cottage at Reynisfjara. This is a fantastic place to stay with a million dollar view. Just don’t be alarmed when wild sheep roam (or fight, in my case) at your front door. I chased them away with a light tap on the window pane. It’s pretty much a fully furnished cottage with WiFi, television, water heating, cooking and dining area. Cozy enough for the 2 of us.
Vik → Hofn
There is Hof, and then there’s Hofn. Don’t be confused by these 2 places. Hofn is the lobster capital of Iceland. Here goes our onward quest to get some lobsters for dinner and breakfast.
Skaftafell / Vatnajökull National Park: We visited this national park to satisfy our aim of completing a glacier hike. We booked a glacier tour with Guide to Iceland. It was pretty easy to find the meet-up location which was located in the car park. Guide to Iceland provided us with the necessary hiking gear and gave a safety briefing. Before we reached Falljökull glacier, we had to hike for approximately 20 minutes to get to the start of the glacier.
Unfortunately, we could not hike up the glacier. The glacier melted at a very fast rate, causing the bridge which connects the glacier and land to fall apart. So for safety reasons, the leader had to abort the hike.
Fjallsárlón Glacial Lagoon: Since we had time to spare, we headed to Fjallsárlón Glacial Lagoon and took a post wedding photo shoot. I couldn’t resist the beauty of Iceland so I packed my gowns and accessories before hand and did a DIY photo shoot with our trusty tripod.
Dinner: Pakkhus Restaurant. There are many lobster restaurants in Hofn so take your time to pick one. We found this restaurant pretty decent but the soup was not to my liking. I would recommend Humarhöfnin Veitingahús.
Breakfast: Hafnarbuðin. We were up early so we decided to explore this small town in search for breakfast. Behold, we found this cabin restaurant. It didn’t look much from the outside but food was awesome. We had a lobster sandwich for $15. We were ecstatic. Where in Singapore can you get a $15 lobster sandwich full of lobster meat with every bite?
The southern part of Iceland is just the tip of an iceberg to this amazing island. There’s more nature and wonder awaiting us.